NHL Daily Fix: Thursday, Jan. 24: Beer catches a puck, what's on tap

Here is what's happening around the NHL and a look at Thursday's schedule.

By Brian Stubits

Jan 24, 2013 at 9:32 am ET • 2 min read

The NHL Daily Fix is your morning wake-up call with news and notes for the day's hockey action.

Morning Buzz

The best of the NHL on Wednesday

The chances that you catch a hockey puck in a game are already slim, particularly with netting around both ends of the boards. Catching a hockey puck in your beer? Well that's like a million to one.

So you could say the Bruins fan in the video above is a lucky guy. Then again, he just lost his beer -- presuming it wasn't already empty -- and at that price he probably could have bought a puck. (Busted Coverage)

• Despite their loss to Colorado the other night, the Kings actually did have some good news from the game. Anze Kopitar made his season debut after suffering a knee injury during the lockout. The good news today is that Kopitar says he's perfectly fine.

"The knee feels good. I didn't have any problems with it. I pretty much forgot I was wearing [a brace] out there." (LA Kings Insider)

• The biggest storyline in the early part of the season for me has been the overwhelmingly positive response from the fans. I could understand the attendance numbers and ratings not going down, but they have skyrocketed up. Broadcasts are breaking records. Of course this pleases Gary Bettman.

"We could be hopeful all we wanted, but we didn't take anything for granted," Bettman said to Sports Business Daily. "We are grateful and we are excited."

Why such a great fan response? Bettman had some theories.

"We really thought that it was most important initially that the fans reconnect with their teams," he said. "We took out ads in every market nationally in Canada and the U.S. But we thought it was more important initially that all of our efforts be focused on backstopping the clubs as they reached out." (Sports Business Daily)

• In Edmonton's season opener over the weekend in Vancouver, Ben Eager went toe-to-toe with Zack Kassian of the Canucks in a brief but frenzied fight. Eager left the ice bloodied and with a concussion. There are reasons I'm not a fan of fighting and this is the biggest one why (steps off soap box before really getting on). (Edmonton Oilers)

• The Ducks are using Teemu Selanne to help encourage fans to join the Die Hards. How are they using Selanne (other than him being an attraction for anybody to go to a Ducks game)? By giving out bobbleheads to new members. Only Teemu thinks it's a Cam Fowler bobblehead, not his own. (Puck Daddy)

• Why is Jamie Benn still unsigned by the Stars? Mike Heika explains the thinking on both sides. (Dallas Morning News)

Thursday schedule

N.Y. Islanders at Toronto (7 ET)
Montreal at Washington (7 ET)
Buffalo at Carolina (7 ET)
N.Y. Rangers at Philadelphia (7 ET)
Ottawa at Florida (7:30 ET)
Nashville at St. Louis (8 ET)
Chicago at Dallas (8:30 ET)
Columbus at Colorado (9 ET)
Los Angeles at Edmonton (9:30 ET)
Phoenix at San Jose (10:30 ET)

For more hockey news, rumors and analysis, follow @EyeOnHockey and @StubitsCBS on Twitter, subscribe to our YouTube account and like us on Facebook.